Alright; this is seriously not an epilogue, nor is it the finish. Marlene's problems aren't over yet; they're just getting started, I think.
Be careful of fluffiness! ^-^ 3
Chapter Twenty-One
The little store bell rang on a beautiful, late November morning, alerting the store manager-jeweler that a customer had arrived. First customer of the morning, he realized.
"Good morning, and welcome to Jewels l'Italia!" one of the female assistants called out. "What can I do for you, signore?" Clearly, the girl knew little Italian; just enough for respect and for a welcoming Italian aura.
"I have an appointment," a familiar male voice said, and the jeweler looked up to see the car he was looking forward to seeing. He moved from his sorting, instructing one of the other assistants to continue his work for him, and moved forward to take over.
"I'll take it from here," he said gently to the new girl, and she moved away to attend to an incoming customer.
"They're here," the jeweler murmured, leading the way to a large, walk-in stock room. The jeweler had an Italian accent, and it was obvious that the car was used to speaking in English out of habit. "Just arrived last night from the manufacturers. They make the alloy, you know," he added in the car's confusion, "and they do the inlaying and designing by hand."
The customer nodded as they walked into a room full of boxes. But the whole hall had other rooms, and the customer suspected it was full of boxes, too.
"They haven't been touched yet; I don't think they've seen the light of day since packing," he commented, opening a box. It was a rim, its designed front peeping out of a boxful of packing peanuts. The same was for the rim in the box right beside it, the design slightly different. Both were so beautiful and the designs so delicately made the customer was awed, and couldn't stop staring and marveling at it.
"Just as you wanted it, signore," the jeweler said quite proudly. "Checked it myself, and no other rim comes close."
It took a few moments for the customer to speak. "How much for this?" The jeweler passed a bit of paper, and the customer blinked in disbelief.
"Sorry, but that's that."
The customer swallowed. "A very nice price for very nice work," the customer said, and handed a small packet.
"Will you have it delivered?"
"Si," the car answered automatically, and wrote the address on a paper.
"When?"
"November 25th, this Saturday."
The shopkeeper nodded as he took note. "Anything else?"
The customer shook his head. "That's it."
"Alright. I don't think there's anything left for you here."
"Thank you for the services, my good man," the customer said as he left.
"Why did Italy have to be so cold?" a young silver Audi A7 grumbled.
"Because it's your cousin's birthday, that's why," an older car, and Audi A4, growled. "Did you or didn't you want to come?"
"OH, fine," the A7 mumbled. I'll stay."
It was the 25th of November, and a party had been arranged for a very special occasion: Marlene's 29th birthday. The closest of her family were invited-cousins, aunts, uncles, and some nieces and nephews-her second family, even Jeff Gorvette and Lewis Hamilton, Mr. Earlwood, and not to mention Cosette, as well as close co-workers and old college friends. But then, even Francesco's friends were invited. IT was unknown as to why, but it was a part of the celebration, other cars guessed.
"It's already a heated room, Margo," Lightning put in.
"Yeah, but it isn't this cold in the Philippines," she replied, sneezing.
"Ladies and gentle cars," someone called over the sound system, "may I present to you, the celebrant of today, Marlene J. Stevenson!" The lights dimmed, and a spotlight lit up Margo's cousin in a ring of white. Even in her dark silver paint, she still looked beautiful. "Why don't you say a few words, honey?"
"H-hi, everyone," she said nervously, and cleared her throat. "It's quite ironic, really, that I write well, but I can't seem to make up a speech," she said, and the cars laughed. "Anyway, I'm going to give it a shot.
"First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for coming to my-ahem-party"-the cars chuckled as she did-"and for my -ahem-boyfriend-Francesco Bernoulli"-Francesco waved from the crowed as they laughed lightly-"for pulling a terrific, yet uncalled-for party."
The audience laughed as Francesco rolled his eyes. "It was my pleasure; you need to go to parties more!" he called out, and it was her turn to roll her eyes as the crowd laughed.
"Erm…that's it, I guess. So please, enjoy the food, the music, and the night is young! Enjoy yourselves, courtesy of the only Signore Bernoulli!" she called out, voice echoing, and as she music started, she stepped off the makeshift stage, the other cars spreading out.
But before she could party, she had to take Francesco around to meet her various family and friends. And there was one relative she was expecting to see.
"Margo!"
The young A7's face, stuffed with fresh-from-the-oven blueberry muffin, lips littered with crumbs, lit up as she turned around. "Marlene!" she mumbled through her mouthful, and the two embraced. "It's ben so long!"
"Aw, don't cry, my little baby," Marlene soothed the younger car. "Come on; there's someone I'd like you to meet."
As Marlene led her cousin to Francesco, Margo swallowed the cake and wiped the crumbs off her lips. "You could have given me some warning," she growled affectionately.
"Margo, you've heard of Francesco," she said, and swallowed, "my…boyfriend."
Margo laughed at her cousin. "Still haven't gotten over the hype?"
"Oh, be quiet," Marlene murmured fondly.
"I can't believe your boyfriend is the Francesco Bernoulli, wow," Margo gushed softly. "And by the way, your muffins are awesome," she added, pulling out a sneaked cupcake from under her fender. "Don't tell anyone I did this; my father will kill if he knew I was pigging out again," she murmured as she took a bite.
The two lovers laughed as she bit into the pastry. "Glad you like it," Francesco said as she enjoyed. "It's a home recipe."
"Isn't it that you're almost done with the season?" Margo asked after swallowing her mouthful.
"Don't tell me you're a fan of Francesco, too?" Marlene said it like it was the most dangerous thing to her cousin.
"Not really, but I've been into racing since you started writing, ya know," Margo scolded her cousin lightly. "But I've heard of him, and it's such an honor to meet with a prestigious racer."
"Tell me about yourself for a moment; Marlene's been telling me all sorts of things about the rest of the family," he encouraged.
Margo stared into space for a moment. "I'm…her favorite cousin…and I have no idea why." She grinned. "I mean, she's always bugging me to do stuff with her. But this time, I'm out of the picture." She shrugged. "Now, how about you entertain the rest of the family? I wanna find my Uncle Lightning; I hear he's got a story for me." She hurried away.
"'Uncle'?"
"It's a tradition in the Philippines that she was raised with," Marlene said shortly. "It's a long story."
Francesco nodded in approval. It was a half-hour before they finished Marlene's family, and they turned to her close friends.
"Mr. Earlwood, this is-ahem-Francesco Bernoulli. Francesco,my editor, Mr. Gavin Earlwood."
"So, this is the prestigious Mr. Earlwood," Francesco praised the editor, and Toyota Camry laughed sheepishly.
"Nonsense; I'm just a car-next-door," he said. "But to meet the prestigious Francesco Bernoulli is an honor. Yes, well, when it's your best feature writer's boyfriend, I suppose it has its benefits," Mr. Earlwood laughed lightly.
Marlene rolled her eyes as they laughed, and after a few minutes of conversation, the duo moved on.
Marlne sighted an odd car: a BMW F12 6 Series. "What-Cosette!" Marlene cried out happily as she caught sight of her friend's plate number.
"Marlene!" the white pearl she-car called, hugging her friend. "You're looking well."
"But look at you! How did you-"
"The doctors found a cure back in HAwaii," Cosette replied. "A little sun, a little medicine, a little surgery, and now I'm back to the northern hemisphere!"
"Congrats!" Marlene grinned. "Oh, have you met-"
"Gods, who hooks up wit ha famous racer?" Cosette gushed, eyeing the car right behind Marlene.
Marlene stared at her like she grew a third eye, and eyed the car beside Cosette. "You were saying?"
"OH, yeah," Cosette said in a sweat. "You invited him, didn't you?" She snuggled the car beside her as Francesco moved forward. "Isn't it wonderful? Isn't he wonderful?"
Marlene's and Francesco's faces lit up in excitement as they put two and two together. "I didn't know you both were back on track!" she squeaked.
"Hi Francesco," the McLaren waved at his friend. "Long time no see, eh?"
"But how?" Marlene said in disbelief. She hadn't seen her girl-best friend in two years, and was amazed to see her smiling again.
"We both noticed we were lonely and, well…I guess points of view change, and…yeah." She looked up into affectionate auburn eyes.
"Congratulations, amico," Francesco said, smiling at his friend.
"Yes, well, I believe you have other…people to see to," the black car said sheepishly.
As the pairs separated, Marlene called out, "Be careful of fluffiness!" and Cosette seemed to flush in embarrassment.
"'Fluffiness'?" Francesco repeated.
"It's some sort of codeword-thing between me and Cosette. We never really liked talking about…some things," she said as they moved on.
"Lightning, hi!" Marlene called to the group on the near side of the makeshift stage. The second family greeted the duo like old friends.
"So, how's the party so far?" the red racer asked his friend as she sided by him.
"Exhausting," she said, "but it's great! I believe you've met my cousin." She eyed her cousin, who was now sipping punch, and the A7 waved.
"Yeah, she's great," Tia squeaked beside the silver car.
"So listen, we have this great bet-thing," Lightning said.
"Yeah, and that includes you," Mia called out.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Is this about my salary again?"
"No, it's something better," Sally replied.
"It's a bet on who gets engaged first," Margo crowed, "you and Francesco or Lightning and Sally."
"And how much did you bet?"
"Fifteen on Sally," Tia called.
"The same on Marlene," Mia said, challenging her sister.
"Twenty on Lightning," Mater put in.
"I'd say the same on Francesco," Sheriff bet.
"Margo?"
Her brows met as she thought. "I don't have any money on me, but I'm on Marlene's side."
"Guys, we're not even ready," Marlene said with finality. "I mean, why should we? We've got some good years left."
"Mom and Dad get married at 29 years," Margo put in, tone matter-of-factly. "I mean, it's perfect; you've got a stable job, you're old enough, and you love each other. What's keeping you from taking the next step?"
Marlene fidgeted uneasily. She hated being cornered by her smart cousin. "I'm just not ready."
Francesco rolled his eyes behind Marlene's vision, and the rest of the team laughed. He was ready, even if she wasn't. But wasn't she the one to day that he was the male in the relationship, the one that should lead in those terms?
Marlene looked back to see Francesco's eyes staring back at her with equal curiosity, and the rest of the team laughed. He shrugged and she turned back.
Soon enough it was time for the various games that included everybody: kids and adults alike. Everyone was at home there, despite the winter and the venue or the time. And then, it was time for the opening of gifts, that, unfortunately, Mr. Earlwood and Cosette had requested. Marlene tore open dozens of gifts one by one, each either from a whole family or from a single friend. Marlene had received a lot of things-a new buffer, body wax, etc.-but she noticed that there was none from Francesco.
"Francesco, I don't believe I've seen a gift here with your name on it," she said, and other cars nodded in agreement, confusion and excitement. Surely there was something in store for the R8.
The crowd cleared a path for Francesco, and he stood in front of her with a smile. "I know."
"So…you don't have a gift for me?" she said, a little mock hurt in her voice. "Or is the whole party the gift? It was a surprise, after all."
"Neither," he replied. "But before I give it to you, I'd like to ask you one question: have you ever thought about changing your name?"
A squeal came from the side, and everyone turned to the red and silver trio that stood by to watch. Margo held her tires to her mouth, eyes bright with excitement. Marlene wondered what was going on, and turned to Francesco again.
Now, why would I change my name? she thought. "No. I mean, why should I?" The other cars murmured assent, but looked on.
He smiled even more, knowingly, and waved his tire upwards, his gaze not deviating from hers, and two forklifts with two large silver platters, their lids on, sided by Francesco.
She sniffed, slightly confused. "Look, the buffet is over, and I'm stuffed," she said.
He shook his head. "You still haven't thought about changing your name?"
Irritation forced a retort. "I told you: why would I want to change my-"
She was cut off as the two forklifts lifted the covers to reveal two rims. As they lowered the platters for them to see, she saw the they were wedding rims, both made of a beautiful silver alloy. On the one on her left, its outer ring was the name, in a simple yet exquisite calligraphy, was the name Francesco Bernoulli. Light, intricate patterns were engraved, starting from the hub, extending outward to the ends of the spokes, but ending at random lengths like the sun's rays, the borderline lines ending in small gems of emerald, diamond and ruby. The other rim was plainer yet of the same design, the longest borderline line ending in the spokes' middle, ends dotted with gems of diamond and onyx, and on the outer ring, in the same clear, beautiful font, was Marlene Bernoulli.
Everyone was astonished, MArlene even more so. This was the greatest gift anyone could give her, and her eyes glistened with tears of joy.
"I, er, chose titanium because it was lightweight and scratch-resistant, and that it would be great for my races." He stared at her straight in the eye. "I wanted to wear mine to all my races so I wouldn't forget about you, especially when I look into a mirror," he confessed, unflinching. "I thought that getting an engagement rim was a little over-the-top, but you have that one." He gestured to the rim she was wearing now, the one she got from last year's events.
Marlene didn't know whether to cry or scream or kiss him or what, but one thing was for sure: she was ecstatic.
When the crowd had recovered from the hype, Francesco looked at her again, and said, "Now, are you ready to change your name?"
"Yes!" she called out aloud. "I am!"
With that, all the cars present cheered, and Marlene sealed the answer with a kiss.
Bwaa, are you Marlesco fans happy now? Be more careful where you tread though; there's more luffles coming your way!